Portable radiotelephone for automatically dialing a central voice-activated dialing system

ABSTRACT

A portable radiotelephone can be shifted between a first condition wherein the radiotelephone does not receive or transmit voice communications by radiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephone channels and a second condition wherein the radiotelephone receives and transmits voice communications by radiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephone channels. The radiotelephone automatically calls a central voice-activated phone dialing system remote from the portable radiotelephone in response to producing the second condition in the radiotelephone. The radiotelephone includes a switch for producing the first and second conditions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention generally relates to portable radiotelephones, and moreparticularly to a cellular portable radiotelephone for use with a remotecentral voice-activated dialing system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Portable radiotelephones are well known and commonly used, particularlyin the form of portable cellular telephones. Cellular telephones arevery convenient for users because they are cordless and can be made invarious small sizes to fit in pockets and purses. In addition, somecellular telephones permit the user to answer and terminate telephonecalls and control other telephone functions by opening or closing amovable element, such as a cover. Although cellular telephones are veryconvenient, there remains a need for cellular telephones which areeasier to use and carry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention fulfills the above-described need by providing a portableradiotelephone that automatically calls a central voice-activated phonedialing system remote from the portable telephone in response toproducing a condition in the portable radiotelephone wherein theradiotelephone receives and transmits voice communications byradiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephone channels. Because thetelephone automatically connects to a remote central voice-activateddialing system, there is no need for a keypad and the telephone can bemade very small and compact and is very simple to use. To make a phonecall, the user simply turns the phone on, and when the connection to thevoice-activated dialing system is made, the user recites the number tobe dialed and the call is made. The call is terminated when the phone ispowered down by shifting the phone to a condition wherein theradiotelephone does not receive or transmit voice communications byradiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephone channels.

More particularly, the portable radiotelephone of the present inventionincludes a housing, a device connected to the housing for selectivelyproducing a first condition in the portable radiotelephone and,alternatively, producing a second condition in the portableradiotelephone. The first condition of the radiotelephone is a statewherein the radiotelephone does not receive or transmit voicecommunications by radiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephonechannels and the second condition is a state wherein the radiotelephonereceives and transmits voice communications by radiotelephonetransmissions over radiotelephone channels. The radiotelephone alsoincludes a device disposed in the housing for automatically calling acentral voice-activated phone dialing system remote from the portableradiotelephone, in response to producing the second condition in theportable radiotelephone. The automatic calling device includes adedicated memory location having stored therein a telephone number forthe central voice-activated dialing system.

Still more particularly, the device for producing the first and secondconditions in the portable radiotelephone includes a switch coupled tothe microprocessor which controls telephone functions. In addition, adevice for producing the first and second conditions further includes acover which forms part of the housing and is movable relative to a baseportion of the housing between a first position wherein the portableradiotelephone is in the first position and a second position whereinthe portable radiotelephone is in the second position. The cover can beattached to the base portion of the housing with a hinge so that thecover is rotatable about the hinge between the first position and thesecond position. Alternatively, the cover can be slidably attached tothe base portion of the housing so that the cover is reciprocablerelative to the housing base between the first position and the secondposition.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method forinitiating a radiotelephone call is provided comprising the steps ofshifting a radiotelephone from a first condition, wherein theradiotelephone does not receive or transmit voice communications byradiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephone channels, to a secondcondition, wherein the radiotelephone receives and transmits voicecommunications by radiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephonechannels, and automatically calling a central voice-activated phonedialing system remote from the portable radiotelephone in response toproducing the second condition in the portable radiotelephone.

According to a particular embodiment of the present invention, aportable radiotelephone is provided consisting of a housing, a deviceconnected to the housing for communicating voice communications asradiotelephone transmissions on radiotelephone channels, and a deviceconnected to the housing for automatically dialing an electronicallystored telephone number in response to an operator command. Desirably,the device for automatically dialing is programmed to dial a centralvoice-activated phone dialing system remote from the portableradiotelephone. The housing can include an electronic display and acover, but does not include a keypad. Accordingly, this embodiment canbe made to be very compact and slender for convenient portability anduse. Alternatively, the telephone can further consist of a plurality ofdevices for automatically dialing an electronically stored telephonenumber in response to an operator command. Desirably, at least one ofthe automatic dialing devices is programmed to dial a centralvoice-activated phone dialing system remote from the portableradiotelephone.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a portableradiotelephone is provided comprising a housing, a device connected tothe housing for communicating voice communications as radiotelephonetransmissions on radiotelephone channels, and a user interface connectedto the housing and consisting of a device for automatically dialing anelectronically stored telephone number in response to an operatorcommand. Desirably, the device for automatically dialing is programmedto dial a central voice-activated phone dialing system remote from aportable radiotelephone. The radiotelephone can further consist of aplurality of devices for automatically dialing an electronically storedtelephone number in response to an operator command. It is desirablethat at least one of the devices for automatically dialing be programmedto dial a central voice-activated phone dialing system remote from theportable radiotelephone.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a portableradiotelephone which is small, compact, and easy to use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portableradiotelephone which takes advantage of the availability of centralvoice-activated dialing systems.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detail description, drawings, andclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable cellular telephone madeaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electronic package of the telephoneshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the function of the microprocessor used inthe telephone shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portable cellular telephone madeaccording to another embodiment of the present invention comprisingmultiple turbo dial buttons.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portable cellular telephone madeaccording to still another embodiment of the present invention includinga slide cover.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the portable cellular telephone shown inFIG. 5 with the cover in the second position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portable cellular telephone madeaccording to yet another embodiment of the present invention comprisinga flip cover.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the portable cellular telephone shown inFIG. 7. The phone in FIG. 8 is shown with the flip cover closed in thefirst position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

As summarized above, the present invention encompasses a portableradiotelephone for automatically calling a central voice-activated phonedialing system remote from the portable radiotelephone. Severalembodiments of this invention are described in detail below.

A first portable cellular telephone 10 made according to an embodimentof the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. The cellulartelephone 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a relatively small, compact cellulartelephone with limited features. This telephone 10 is designedexclusively for automatic dialing, and particularly for automaticallydialing a central voice-activated dialing system. Generally described,the cellular telephone 10 comprises a housing 12 including a userinterface console 14. As described in more detail below, the portablecellular telephone 10 consists of (includes only) the housing 12, adevice connected to the housing for communicating voice communicationsas radiotelephone transmissions on radiotelephone channels, and a systemconnected to the housing for automatically dialing an electronicallystored telephone number in response to an operator command. Desirably,this electronically stored telephone number is a telephone number for acentral voice-activated dialing system and is stored in a dedicatedmemory location.

The housing 12 is desirably made of injection-molded plastic and has alength extending along a longitudinal axis from a bottom end 16 to a topend 18. The housing 12 includes a mouthpiece portion 20 at the bottomend 16 and an earpiece portion 22 at the top end 18. The housing 12 hasa central portion 24 between the mouthpiece portion 20 and the earpieceportion 22. The housing 12 also includes a mouthpiece 26 in the userinterface console 14 at the mouthpiece portion 20 of the housing and anearpiece 28 in the user interface console at the earpiece portion 22 ofthe housing. The housing 12 also includes a lighted display 30 forindicating the telephone number being called or dialed, off and onstatus, and roam or home status. Such a display 30 is typical forcellular telephones and its structure and operation are well known tothose skilled in the art.

The portable cellular telephone 10 further comprises a turbo dial buttonor switch 32 for automatically dialing the electronically storedtelephone number. Turbo dial features are well known to those skilled inthe art and the turbo dial button 32 of the portable cellular telephone10 operates with an electronic package stored in the housing 12 toautomatically dial the electronically stored telephone number andinitiate voice communication by radiotelephone transmission onradiotelephone channels.

More particularly, the turbodial button 32, in conjunction with theelectronic package, is operable when pressed to selectively produce afirst condition in the portable cellular telephone 10 and,alternatively, produce a second condition in the portable cellulartelephone. The first condition of the cellular telephone is a statewherein the cellular telephone 10 does not receive or transmit voicecommunications by radiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephonechannels and the second condition is a state wherein the cellulartelephone receives and transmits voice communications by radiotelephonetransmissions over radiotelephone channels. In other words, the cellulartelephone 10 does not answer or make calls when in the first conditionand does answer and make calls when in the second condition. Thecellular telephone 10 automatically calls the central voice-activatedphone dialing system, which is remote from the portable cellulartelephone, in response to producing the second condition in the portablecellular telephone. The cellular telephone 10 is powered down when inthe first position and automatically powers up when in the secondcondition.

The electronic components of cellular telephone 10 are conventional anda suitable electronics package is illustrated in FIG. 2. Thiselectronics package generally comprises a transceiver 38, a mastermicroprocessor 40, and a slave microprocessor 42, all connected by adata bus 44.

The turbo dial button 32, which is manually operated in this embodiment,sends a signal when pressed to the slave microprocessor 42 which in turnsends an interrupt signal to the master microprocessor 40. The slavemicroprocessor 42 enables the telephone user to communicate with themaster microprocessor 40 and transceiver 38. The slave microprocessor 42is coupled to the display 30 and the turbo dial button 32. The turbodial button 32 enables the user to automatically dial a centralvoice-activated dialing system, answer incoming phone calls, terminatephone calls and power the phone up or down.

The master microprocessor 40 controls the basic functions of thecellular telephone 10 such as providing power up or power down inresponse to a turbo dial indication, calling the central voice-activateddialing system in response to the turbo dial signal, as well asanswering incoming phone calls. The number for the centralvoice-activated dialing system is contained in memory 46 and a powercontroller 48 controls power to the electronics.

The transceiver 38 transmits and receives cellular telephonecommunications. The transceiver 38 is coupled to a microphone 50disposed in the mouthpiece 26 of the telephone housing 12.Communications from the user are received by the microphone 50 and thentransmitted by the transceiver 120 over cellular telephone communicationchannels. The transceiver 38 is also coupled to a speaker 52 housed inthe earpiece 28 of the phone housing 12. The transceiver 38 receivescellular telephone communications from cellular telephone channels andcommunicates the transmissions to the user via the speaker 52.

It should be understood that the components of the electronic packageused in the cellular telephone 10 may vary. For example, it may bedesirable to use a single microprocessor rather than the combination ofthe master microprocessor 40 and the slave microprocessor 42.

Although not illustrated, the cellular telephone 10 also includes anantenna embedded in the housing 12. It should be understood, however,that the antenna could be in the form of a mast antenna extending fromthe housing 12.

The design of the cellular telephone 10 allows the user to automaticallycontact a central voice-activated dialing system remote from the user bysimply pressing the turbo dial button 32 which shifts the telephone fromthe first condition to the second condition. As described above, theturbo dial button 32 is also functional to answer incoming phone calls.The cellular telephone 10 does not include a keypad and, because theturbo dial button 32 provides contact with a remote centralvoice-activated dialing system, no keypad is necessary to make telephonecalls provided that the central voice-activated dialing system isaccessible from the user's location. Without a keypad, the cellulartelephone 10 does not need as much surface area as a conventionalcellular telephone and can be made very slender and compact.

The flow chart on FIG. 3 illustrates the function of the cellulartelephone 10. When it is desired to answer an incoming call or make aphone call, the turbo dial button 32 is pressed to send an interruptsignal to the slave microprocessor 42 at 60 of the block diagram in FIG.3. The master microprocessor 40 inquires as to whether the phone 10 ispowered up at 62. If the phone is not powered up, the mastermicroprocessor 40 signals the power control of the 48 to power up at 64.The master microprocessor 40 then inquires at 66 as to whether the phone10 is ringing. If the phone is ringing, the call is automaticallyanswered at 68. If the phone is not ringing, the master microprocessor40 automatically dials the stored number for the remote centralvoice-activated dialing system at 70, displays the number being calledat 72 through the slave microprocessor 42, and then waits at 74 foranother interrupt signal from the turbo dial button 32. If the mastermicroprocessor 40 determines at 62 that the phone 10 is already poweredup, the master microprocessor signals the power controller 48 to powerdown at 76 and the phone 10 then waits for a further interrupt signalfrom the turbo dial button 32. Powering down automatically terminatesany ongoing phone call.

Another portable cellular telephone 80 made according to an embodimentof the present invention is shown in FIG. 4 and has the same structureand function as the portable cellular telephone 10 illustrated in FIG. 1except that this embodiment includes additional turbo dial buttons 82and 84. The cellular telephone 80 is programmable such that theadditional turbo dial buttons 82 and 84 function to call any desirablenumber such as the user's home and business numbers.

A portable cellular telephone 90 made according to still anotherembodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 andgenerally comprises a housing 92 which includes a base portion 93 and areciprocable slide cover 94 which can be shifted relative to the baseportion.

The cover 94 is selectively reciprocable relative to the base portion 93between a first position, illustrated in FIG. 5, wherein the cellulartelephone 90 is in the first condition, and alternatively, a secondposition, illustrated in FIG. 6, wherein the cellular telephone 90 is inthe second condition. The first and second conditions of the cellulartelephone are the same as for the cellular telephone 10 described aboveand illustrated in FIG. 1. In the first condition, the cover 94 isextended from the base portion 93 and either an incoming phone call isanswered or a remote central voice-activated dialing system is calledautomatically. Calls can be automatically terminated by shifting thecover 94 from the second position, wherein the telephone is in thesecond condition, to the first position, wherein the telephone is on thefirst condition. The telephone 90 automatically powers up when the cover94 is shifted from the first position to the second position andautomatically powers down when the cover is shifted from the secondposition to the first position.

The base portion 93 of the housing 92 is desirably made ofinjection-molded plastic and has a length extending along a longitudinalaxis from a bottom end 96 to a top end 98. The base portion 93 includesa mouthpiece portion 100 at the bottom end 96 and an earpiece portion102 at the top end 98. The base portion 93 of a housing 92 includes acentral portion 104 between the mouthpiece portion 100 and the earpieceportion 102. The base portion 93 of the housing 92 includes a mouthpiece106 at the mouthpiece portion 100 and an earpiece 108 at the earpieceportion 102. In addition, the base portion 93 of the housing 92 includesa display 110 like the display 30 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Thedisplay 110 is located along the central portion 104 of the housing base93.

The cover 94 is also desirably made of injection-molded plastic andincludes a central panel 104 and a pair of opposing L-shaped side walls114 and 116 which give the cover 94 a tray shape. The base portion 93 ofthe housing 92 slides matingly between the side walls 114 and 116 of thecover. The cover 94 extends from a lower end 118, which faces the bottomend 96 of the housing base 93, to an upper end 120, which extends aboveand beyond the top end 98 of the housing base. The cover 94 reciprocatesover the earpiece portion 102 of the housing base 93 along the length ofthe telephone 90.

The cover 94 also includes an antenna (not shown) embedded therein;however, it should be understood that the antenna could also be a mastantenna attached to either the cover 94 or the base portion 93 of thehousing 92. The cover 94 also includes a plurality of holes 122 forreleasing sound from the earpiece 108 through the cover.

The cover 94 can be shifted from the first position, wherein the lowerend 118 of the cover is positioned proximate the mouthpiece 106 and thecover is unextended, to the second position, wherein the lower end ofthe cover is proximate the earpiece 108 and the cover is in the extendedposition, by pressing a release button 124 on the housing base 93. Asuitable release mechanism and antenna arrangement is disclosed in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 08/705,426, filed on Aug. 29, 1996, thedisclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

The portable telephone 90 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 can utilize thesame electronic package as described for the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1. Likewise, the cellular telephone 90 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6functions in the same manner as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and inaccordance with the block diagram in FIG. 3. Instead of a push buttonturbo dial switch, however, the cellular telephone 90 illustrated inFIGS. 5 and 6 automatically produces a turbo dial signal when the cover94 is shifted from the first position to the second position uponpressing the release button 124. A magnetically activated switch (notshown) such as a reed switch or a hall-effect switch is disposed in thehousing 92 and functions as a turbo dial switch when the cover 94 isreciprocated between the first and second positions. The cellulartelephone 90 is in the first condition when the cover 94 is in the firstposition and is in the second condition when the cover 94 is in thesecond position.

Accordingly, when it is desirable to make a phone call using thecellular telephone 90, the release button 124 is pressed and the cover94 is automatically shifted from the first position to the secondposition and a remote, central voice-activated dialing system is called.The user then recites the desired number into the mouthpiece 106 and thecall is automatically made by the voice-activated dialing system. Whentermination of the call is desired, the cover 94 is simply shifted fromthe second position to the first or closed position. Incoming calls canbe answered by pressing the release button to shift the cover 94 fromthe first position to the second position. The phone 90 is automaticallypowered up when the cover 94 is shifted from the first position to thesecond position and automatically powered down when the cover is shiftedfrom the second position to the first position.

A portable cellular telephone 130 made according to yet anotherembodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 andgenerally comprises a housing 132 including a base portion 133 and flipcover 134 connected to a base portion with a hinge 136. The cellulartelephone 130 also includes a mast antenna 138 extending upwardly fromthe base portion 133 of the housing 132.

The base portion 133 of the housing 132 extends from a bottom end 140 toa top end 142 and is substantially prismatic in shape. The base portion132 also includes an earpiece 144 proximate the top end 142 and adisplay 146 between the earpiece and the bottom end 140. The mastantenna 138 extends upwardly from the top end 142 of the base portion133. The hinge 136 is positioned at the bottom end 140 of the housingbase 133.

The flip cover 134 is also substantially prismatic in shape and extendsfrom a bottom end 148 to a top end 150 and is connected at the top endto the bottom end 140 of the housing base 133 with the hinge 136. Theflip cover has a mouthpiece 152 disposed near the bottom end 148 of theflip cover.

The flip cover 134 is rotatable about the hinge 136 relative to thehousing base 133 between a first position wherein the cellular telephone130 is in the first condition and a second position wherein the cellulartelephone is in the second condition. When the cellular telephone 130 isin the first condition, the flip cover 134 is positioned against thebase portion 133 so that the mouthpiece 152 is against the base portion.When the cellular telephone 130 is in the second condition, the flipcover 34 is turned downwardly and away from the base portion 133 so thatthe cellular telephone is extended.

The portable telephone 130 illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 contains thesame electronic package as the cellular telephone illustrated in FIG. 1and that electronic package functions in the same manner as illustratedin FIG. 3 except that the turbo dial signal is generated by a switchactivated by shifting the flip cover 134 between the first and secondpositions. A suitable structure for the flip cover 134 and hinge 136mechanism is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,759, the disclosure ofwhich is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

To make or answer a phone call using the cellular telephone 130, theuser flips the flip cover 134 from the first position to the secondposition and an incoming call is automatically answered, or if there isno incoming call, a remote central voice-activated dialing system isdialed. When making a call, once the connection is made with thevoice-activated dialing system, the user simply recites the number to becalled and the call is made. To terminate a call or power down thecellular telephone 130, the user flips the flip cover 134 from thesecond position to the upright first position.

It should be understood that the foregoing relates to particularembodiments to the present invention, and that numerous changes may bemade therein without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A portable cellular radiotelephone comprising:a housing;means connected to the housing for selectively producing a firstcondition in the portable cellular radiotelephone and, alternatively,producing a second condition in the portable cellular radiotelephone,the first condition being a state wherein the radiotelephone does notreceive or transmit voice communications by radiotelephone transmissionsover radiotelephone channels and the second condition being a statewherein the radiotelephone receives and transmits voice communicationsby radiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephone channels; and meansdisposed in the housing for automatically calling a centralvoice-activated phone dialing system remote from the portable cellularradiotelephone, in response to switching from the first condition to thesecond condition in the portable cellular radiotelephone, said means forautomatically calling including a dedicated memory location havingstored therein a telephone number for the central voice-activateddialing system, wherein the means for producing the first and secondconditions comprises a switch coupled to a microprocessor, and thehousing comprises a base and a cover attached to the housing base andoperatively associated with the means for producing the first and secondconditions such that the cover is movable relative to the housingbetween a first position wherein the portable cellular radiotelephone isin the first condition and a second position wherein the portablecellular radiotelephone is in the second condition.
 2. A portablecellular radiotelephone as in claim 1 wherein the cover is attached tothe housing base with a hinge and is rotatable about the hinge betweenthe first position and the second position.
 3. A portable cellularradiotelephone as in claim 1 wherein the cover is slidably attached tothe housing base and is reciprocable relative to the housing between thefirst position and the second position.
 4. Method for initiating acellular radiotelephone call comprising the steps of:shifting a cellularradiotelephone from a first condition wherein the cellularradiotelephone does not receive or transmit voice communications byradiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephone channels to a secondcondition wherein the cellular radiotelephone receives and transmitsvoice communications by radiotelephone transmissions over radiotelephonechannels; and automatically calling a central voice-activated phonedialing system remote from the portable cellular radiotelephone inresponse to switching from the first condition to the second conditionin the portable cellular radiotelephone wherein the step of shiftingfrom the first condition to the second condition comprises manipulatinga switch coupled to a microprocessor, and the radiotelephone includes ahousing comprising a base and a cover movably attached to the housingbase and the step of shifting includes moving the cover relative to thehousing from a first position wherein the portable cellularradiotelephone is in the first condition to a second position whereinthe portable cellular radiotelephone is in the second condition. 5.Method as in claim 4 wherein the cover is attached to the housing basewith a hinge and the shifting step includes rotating the cover about thehinge from the first position and the second position.
 6. Method as inclaim 4 wherein the cover is slidably attached to the housing base andthe shifting step includes sliding the cover relative to the housingfrom the first position and the second position.